That one time I got dropped onto a tree
by Faveryy
Summary: Getting the chance to reincarnate from an Eldritch being of pure horror wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. [Gamer Fic] [AU] [Little bit of Crack elements? I guess?]
1. Prologue

Painless

**_Keep telling yourself that, it might make it hurt less_**

..Shut up

I can hear the ambulance coming. Maybe...

**_You know__ damn well that they aren't going to make it in time. You're gonna die, Sean_**

Goddammit, you don't know that! Shut up!

"..ey! ...th me! Doc.. fty grams of.. Get him u… Hurr.. Losing way too… lood.."

Voices were coming in and out. My vision was going blurry. I could feel the tears streaming down my face, falling down onto the dry asphalt road

**_Oh, stop crying, ya damn child_**

...You're really pissing me off, you know that?

**_I try~~!_**

By now, I was losing way too much blood. I felt unnaturally cold. Freezing. The world around me was going darker... Greyer... Blacker

I was going to die

**_Ding ding ding! He finally figures it out! Show him his prize~!_**

My response was cut short as I began to see a light, through all of the darkness

I didn't care if the heart monitor was slowing down. I didn't care about the chaos that was happening in the back of the ambulance - how they were trying to keep me from dying. I didn't even care that I couldn't feel or hear anything anymore

That light... I wanted to touch it

"...eep him stab… ot letting... die! ..most there…"

The driver's voice was going faint. He was the only thing I could hear as I walked towards the bright shiny white glob of light

It was just so…

**_Beautiful..._**

_Beautiful..._

"Good evening, Sean"

_Huh?_

_Where am I?_

"Why don't you guess?"

_Who..?_

_..Wait_

_Everything is white... Like that light. I was just dying... Is this...?_

_The afterlife?_

"Bingo! Right on the first try! Impressive~"

The voice was coming from behind me, only, I couldn't turn my head to look at whoever or whatever was speaking to me

"Rude. I am not a _what_... Well, I guess I am.. But that's not important right now. You can't look at me because it will make you go insane, blah blah, babbling idiot, yadda yadda, you get the idea"

_I'm strangely calm in this situation..._

"No time to explain that. I'm here to offer you something"

_Offer? What.. kind of offer?_

"Good! Most aren't willing to listen to me after I explain the insanity part. Hell, even the calming aura can't calm them down. Shoulda saw the last one. The guy started screaming for his mother" I could almost imagine the face and posture that the being made "' I dun wanna b' here no more mommyyy! Help me!' Haha!"

_The offer?_

"Oh right! I want to give you another chance at life!"

…

…

_What?_

"Another chance at life! You know - eat, sleep, talk, exist. I guess there's a bit more than that, but you get the idea~ So? Come on! It'll be fun!"

_What's the catch?_

"Oooh, a smart one? Or a curious one. Who knows? I like it... Hmph. I guess I'll tell you. I'm going to send you to a world of your choice, however, I want you to test something for me"

_Test something?_

"Yeah! I made it yesterday and I _reeeeally _want to send it out on a test drive. I can't really suppress my power enough to make it interesting, so I picked the first being that interested me to test it out, which would be you! I guess it would be better to show you, wouldn't it?"

_Wai-_

**[Initiating Bootup Process..]**

**[Warming up internal servers..]**

**[Contacting Administrators for Level 5 access..]**

**[Access granted..]**

**[Enter Passcode : ********]**

**[Passcode accepted]**

**[Welcome!]**

**[You have been granted first use to me! GAME1324AS-05]**

"Ah, yeah I still haven't given it a name yet…"

_Seriously?_

"Shut it. Programming is hard and I have a lot of responsibilities. Coming up with a name isn't one of them. I think that's Carl's, actually…"

_Who the hell is-?_

[**Please enter your name!]**

**[_]**

I glared at the screen for a second before doing what it said

**[Sean_]**

**[Please choose which world you would like to start your new life in!]**

**[Naruto] [x]**

**[One Piece] [ ]**

**[Dragon Ball] [ ]**

**[Bleach] [ ]**

**[Harry Potter] [ ]**

**[More…]**

I looked carefully over each and every one of these choices. In the end, it came down to one

Naruto

Why? Well, I didn't necessarily want to become a pirate, or join the military, so that was out. Plus, I'm really afraid of drowning and deep waters, so…

Dragon ball? Three words - Planet, Boom, Scary

Bleach was kinda the same. I didn't really want to fuck with people who could literally cut my very spirit into a million tiny little pieces. Fuck that

I guess Harry Potter as well. Everyone there could end up killing me with either sheer stupidity or two short words. Plus, hanging around a couple hundred kids suffering from the horrors of hormones and puberty for 7 whole years sounds scarier than dying. Trust me, I worked as a middle school sub for a semester. There's a reason that I only worked _one_ semester

The more tab didn't have many more interesting things. Dr. Stone? I'm not smart, nor strong, nor do I want to live like a caveman for years before cell phones are invented. Even if this thing operates like I think it does, it's not worth it

There were things like Gurren Lagann, Star Wars, maybe even Borderlands, that caught my eye, however, most of those were greyed out and I couldn't select them. Nothing really stood up to Naruto.

The place was... "perfect", or close to it at least, in terms of Survival - if you know what you're doing - and ease of power attainment.

**[Naruto]**

**[A Class 6 Planetary World. Normal Difficulty]**

**[ERROR]**

**[Name does not fit the cultural origin of the selected world. Choosing a new name..]**

**[New name was chosen - Saito]**

**[Please choose where you wish to start your new life]**

**[Amegakure] [ ]**

**{Singin' in the Rain~}**

**A village that rains 24/7 cannot be good for your body.**

**Gains to CHR and VIT are halved**

**{A War-torn village has its benefits. Cons as well, but some benefits}**

**+2 to both STR and DEX per level, however, a greater chance to go Insane, Rogue, or end up Dead**

**[Hoshigakure] [ ]**

**{Starlight, star bright}**

**Once every ten years, you gain one wish. Be careful what you wish for!**

**[Iwagakure] [ ]**

**{Stonehead}**

**Iwa nin tend to be a tad bit on the dumb side most of the time**

**+3 to STR and VIT stats per level, however your gain on INT and WIS will be halved. 150% Gain towards Earth-related Techniques**

**{Stubborn}**

**You are from Iwa. If you aren't stubborn, get the hell outta here**

**150% Gain towards mental defense skills, however, reputation gains get cut down to 80% because of your stubborn nature**

**[Kirigakure] [ ]**

**{Bloody Mist}**

**You were born in one of the most deadly of the five shinobi villages. You're gonna be picking up a thing or two on your travels**

**200% Gain towards sword skills and 150% towards general weapon skills. Because of the stigma towards the mist, 50% gain towards foreign shinobi and 150% towards fellow Kiri Shinobi.**

**{A Watery Grave}**

**Being around so much water has to have some effect on your physiology**

**150% Gain towards Water-related techniques**

**[Konohagakure] [ ]**

**{Will of Fire}**

**Camaraderie and Teamwork. Traits preached like the words of God. Not like it doesn't work...**

**200% Reputation gain towards fellow Konoha Shinobi and +2 towards CHA per level. 150% Gain towards Fire related techniques**

**{Blind}**

**Konoha citizens and Shinobi tend to be a little dumb, don't they?**

**-1 towards WIS and INT per level. Possible to get rid of**

**{Strongest Village}**

**Having fought and been on the winning side of all three wars, the title of strongest is deserved.**

**+1 to all stats besides LUC per level. 75% rep gain towards foreign shinobi**

**[Kumogakure] [ ]**

**{Zip Zap Chop}**

**It seems like everyone from Kumo has a sword of their own. Where do they get all of that steel from? I guess they do live near a buncha' mountains**

**150% gain towards Sword skills as well as Lightning related techniques.**

**{Strongest Spear and Shield}**

**Kumogakure shinobi tend to be really muscular. Like the Third and Fourth Raikage. They're pretty strong I guess**

**+2 to STR and DEX stats per level. -1 to WIS**

**[Otogakure] [ ]**

**{Vicious}**

**Otogakure isn't all sunshine and rainbows. In fact, it's far from it. More like that light from the Arc of the covenant and Rice. Lots of Rice**

**CHA Gains are cut down to 25%. +1 to STR and VIT per level. Reputation gain towards foreign shinobi is nullified**

**{Experiment}**

**In an effort to create an army to stand up to Konoha, you are experimented upon at birth. Fun~!**

**+3 to STR and DEX per level. Lifespan is greatly decreased. Chance to gain a random bloodline trait**

**[Sunagakure] [ ]**

**{Sandy}**

**Cheeks? Nah**

**150% Gain towards Wind-related techniques**

**{Dry}**

**Need milk? Or Water? I have both**

**Due to your dry personality, villages don't quite like you that much. 75% towards rep gains**

**[Uzushiogakure] [ ]**

**{Ramen!}**

**Uzumaki don't just love ramen because of its taste. They love it because of how it feels!**

**Whenever eating Ramen, you have a 0.01% chance of gaining a random stat point! Happy eating!**

**{Bonds}**

**Uzumaki create bonds. They do not destroy them**

**Whenever rep enters [Friends], rep will not go down unless you try to actively do so, or the subject genuinely does not want your company.**

**[Surprise me~ ] [ x ]**

**No major Debuffs**

**A Random starting location in the wilderness. Completely randomized base stats between 1-30 and two randomized passive skills, one random active skill, and one random weapon**

**Test your luck**

Random wasn't really a hard choice to make. In fact, it seemed like it was the best option out of all of them. No debuffs? Randomized stats? Two random passives and one active? A free weapon?!

At this point, I felt confident in my luck to guide me

**[You chose {Surprise me~}!]**

[**Hmmmm... You're sure? Absolutely certain? There is no going back after this. One last chance to say no]**

I felt my eye twitch

_Yes, I want to choose Surprise Me. The damn thing is already mocking my choices..._

"Ah? The Randomized Option? You're absolutely sure? I know it seems like a great option, but..." I could almost see the grimace forming "Anyways, Alan is an idiot and created that option. I just want to make sure you're absolutely certain"

_You're really not making me feel confident here..._

"Hey, I'm just looking out for you! I don't wanna lose my guinea pig!"

_Gee, how nice of you. Yes, I want to choose the Surprise Me option._

_"_Ooookay. Your choice. Now then, time to drop ya'"

_Wait a minute, hold on, drop me?!_

**[Appearance automatically Chosen]**

**[Selected template 'Cloud Strife']**

**[Have a nice day!]**

"I'll contact you when I need to! Toodles~!"

_Waitwaitwait-OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHSHITSHITSHIT!_

**_THWAP_**

* * *

**_(Revision - March 15, 2020)_**

**_I didn't change much here, as you can see. I completely scrapped the wish idea and replaced it with some random skills and a weapon. The up and coming chapters will (For sure) be completely different_**

**_Hope you all stick around! See ya in the next one_**


	2. Shitty beginning

_**This chapter was shortened a bit, taking away from it's already lacking amount. However, this chapter is much more of an interlude than something with actual meat**_

* * *

Owww

I _still _hurt all over from that fall

They couldn't have bothered giving me a parachute or something?

_**Nah. Gods are assholes**_

Anyways, Hello! Good day! Or evening, or night. Morning? I have no clue. This forest is covered by a fuck ton of leaves, blocking out the light so I have no idea what time it is, nor how long I've been here

Well, I've slept 13 times since "The Fall"- as I've been calling it - so I'd assume that's how many nights have passed. So a fortnight? Just about?

I'm still living off of berries and mysterious mushrooms that may or may not be magic.

**[Magic Mushrooms!]**

**Hey! I know what you're thinking! Drugs are bad! Don't eat these!**

**{Adds Status Effect(s)}**

**\- Hallucinations**

**\- Paranoia**

**\- Nausea**

**\- Drowsiness**

_**(More)**_

Hey. No, I did not eat them.

Yet...

Don't give me that look!

* * *

I guess I should try hunting

Skills are still eluding me. I didn't get any sort of notifications or tutorials, so either I'm just dumber than a bag of rocks which is likely, or I've gotta wait for a bit. Personally I'm leaning towards the latte- Oh. That was a twig, wasn't it? Oh well, I'll have to be more caref-

_"RGHHHH"_

Two yellow eyes looking at me from the shadows in the bushes. Looking... very crazed

Oh lookie, it's leaping at me!

"AHHHHHHH GOD IT HURTS!"

* * *

I could finally ignore the pain

Why?

It was finally finished!

My mansion!

**[Shitty Clay Hut]**

**A hut made from straw, a crude form of clay, and crap from the local livestock. It will do for now but it is recommended that the user does not stay inside for long, lest the smell latches onto them for the rest of their lives**

**10 Square Feet**

**[Requirements for Upgrading]**

**Level 10 Crafting Skill [ x ]**

**Small Branches [0/100] [ ]**

**Adobe Mixture [0/10,000 FlOz] [ ]**

**Straw [0/10 Ibs]**

**(Currently Soaking Wet)**

The upgrading thing was intriguing, however, I ignored it in the joy I was feeling at the moment.

I finally had something to cover me from the rain!

Haha!

_BOOOM_

"_KYAAAAAA"_

* * *

Screw... This... Rain

My hut didn't last three hours in the torrents of "Middle of buttfuck nowhere" and now I'm freezing cold, smelling like cow shit, and angry

Really angry…

_**KRK**_

_"GRRRRRRRRRR"_

"GODDAMMIT NOT AGAIN!"

* * *

"Status"

"Stats?"

"Character Screen"

"Inventory?"

Absolutely nothing

"Did she seriously send me here without any tools to survive?"

**_She did_**

I'm screwed

* * *

Is.. is that what I think it is…?

Lights, the sounds of laughter and talking… food?

FOOD!

_CIVILIZATION!_

"YAHAHAHA!"

* * *

My lungs were burning from my dead sprint but I didn't even care. The smell of bread was drifting towards me faster than Usain Bolt on crack

…

…

Ok, that's really not the kind of metaphor I wanted to use but I really don't give a damn right now

What I did care about was...

"BREAD! AHAHA!"

I was on the verge of tears right now. For the past two weeks, I had to rely on mysterious mushrooms and berries.

The number of psychedelic trips I've had cannot be good for my psyche…

"You need something kid?" An old man, Large and about 53, with a head of white hair and a beard to rival Jolly ole Saint Nick with, said to me

I ignored him while drooling over the selection this guy had. French bread, Pita bread, Challa, Kaiser rolls, Rye, god damn, there were even some pretzels thrown in here!

I didn't even know this world_ had_ Pretzels!

You learn something new every day

"Kid, you gonna buy something? If not, get outta here. I got paying customers that need serving"

It was then I had realized something

...

I had no money…

_'Why do the gods hate me?'_

* * *

_Think think think... How the hell am I supposed to make money? I doubt I could find a job teaching_

**_Not that you would_ want _to teach anyways..._**

_Besides the point. Computer programming is out as well. I _doubt _computers exist here_

**_Oy. Lookie _**

_Hmm?_

We. Or I, really, was standing in the middle of the town, sitting on a bench debating amongst myself, when a glint caught my eye down an alleyway. So, as any sane person would do, I stood up and walked down the alley

The light seemed to get stronger each step I got closer to it, and eventually, I discovered that it was originating from some torn painting of a Prarie that had been thrown away. It shone through the rips in the painting as if it were a crack in the universe or something

_The hell is this?_

**[Discovery Made!]**

**[Field Dungeon - Frederick's Masterpiece]**

**Recommended Level - 5**

**Rewards for completion - 1000 EXP and anything found inside **

**Difficulty - Easy**

**Would you like to enter?**

**I Yes I No I**

_Field Dungeon? Rewards?_

I looked around. The streets were pretty empty by now, and everything was locked up quite heavily. The only thing I had for a weapon was my fists...

Screw it. I wasn't going to be able to buy anything considering I had nothing to my name and robbing something is straight out of the window. This place may be filled with civilians but I was not going to risk it

So, I pressed Yes

Nothing ventured, nothing gained?

**[Welcome to your first Field Dungeon!]**

* * *

_**(March 16th, 2020) EDIT; **__** I got rid of the Instant Dungeons and instead replaced them with just regular Field Dungeons. As well as locking away skills, for the time being, seeing as how I actually want a character development happening in this story and I don't trust myself if I have an OP character to develop, if that makes sense. Just an FYI though, it won't be this way for long. I'm looking at an exponential growth curve - hopefully**_

_** Leave some feedback, tell me how I can improve, what I can add to make this story better. Anything that helps, really. I appreciate all feedback that comes my way**_

_**P.S - Lemme know how you feel about the voice. He's kinda growing on me**_


	3. An Artist's Struggle

**[Welcome to your first Field Dungeon!]**

The world around me seemed to be drenched in paint for a single split moment, melting away the alleyway that I was once in and almost literally seemed to _paint _my new surroundings

I was now standing in the middle of that very painting that I was staring at just moments ago. Literally. There was a wheat field in the distance and I could _feel _the tallgrass tickling my legs as the wind blew from my left. All of it seemed to be painted on

Then, it became dark

Almost instantly

One moment the sun was brightly shining in the sky, and the next the sky almost seemed to bleed black

I heard a crunch behind me and on instinct threw a wild hook. It connected and I could feel whatever was sneaking up on me screech in pain before landing loudly on the grass

A few deep breaths later and some eye adjustment and I could finally focus as well as see what the hell was going on

I looked down. The thing that I hit seemed to be humanoid. _Seemed _to be. The colors were all off and so was the shape. It looked like it was _made _from pastels or something, hopping straight out of one of Edvard Munch's pieces

A dry heave left me

The thing felt... disgusting. Cursed

From the corner of my eye, I noticed the thing's hand twitch and my eyes narrowed

_'Yeah, no'_

It was effortless. I almost unconsciously reached down and grabbed it's head, planting my feet firmly on its torso, and pulled. Hard. The thing came off with nigh zero resistance along with a spray of black ink

**[Gained 5 EXP]**

**[495 EXP until next level!]**

_'495... What the hell?'_

I guess it made sense. This thing went down in a single wild punch and I literally tore its head off. The whole process took maybe a minute and a half as well

Another noise reached my ears and I spun around, only to freeze

A horde of those things was shambling its way through the wheat towards me. Some of them didn't have legs, so they crawled. Some of them had no visible head, in place having some sort of "face" on its torso or back

All of them just felt... Wrong

So I ran. I ran in the other direction, leaving the corpse of the other monster just laying there

I ran until I hit the forest in the distance and still didn't stop. I didn't stop when I couldn't see them anymore, nor did I stop when I felt like I would die from exhaustion

_There were so many of them_

There was no end. Whenever the wheat would sway from the wind, their heads would pop out, and it just kept going

My hand finally rested against a tree. I felt like shit

**_Lookie over there. Lights_**

I had briefly seen it when coming through the bushes but still looked up. A lone cabin sat in a small clearing up ahead. A different art style. Seemingly made from colored pencils

I stumbled towards it

"Hello? Anyone there?"

No answer

"I'm looking for shelter! Can I enter?"

Still nothing

I sighed and tried the doorknob. It easily swung open

The place was fully furnished. Or, as furnished as it could get while only being drawn by Colored pencils. There was a nice fireplace in the living room accompanied by a few chairs and a dining table.

My head was starting to pound from all of the mental stimuli. Seeing everything in a drawn capacity would do that to you, so I went upstairs. All of the lights were on, thankfully - a nice break from the darkness outside - so it was easy for me to find my way around

A door or two later and I found a room with a bed that I could use

I thought for a moment

_'Was I really that far from that herd? I sprinted for a while and they were quite slow...'_

A head shake later and I was firmly asleep in the bed.

Quite comfy

* * *

My eyes shot open at the sound of the door creaking open and I got up. The lights seemed to have gone out. How long ago, who knows, but it made it worse for my eyes to adjust

The floor creaking alerted me to a presence in the room

I can't tell you how fast those blankets were off me and onto whatever was in the room. The blankets landed quickly and accurately because whatever it landed on shrieked for dear life

Without thinking, I shot up, lunged at whatever the hell was underneath and started throwing hands

_Hard_

[**Gained 5 EXP]**

**[490 EXP until next level!]**

Another one of those pastel monsters

Freaks

Another creak and my head shot up. My eyes were finally adjusted and I saw that it was another one of those things

I looked around

_A lighter on the table_

Let's see if science works in here

A quick flick of the lighter later and I was opening the window. No chance in hell was I about to jump out of a two-story window. That preference was quickly thrown out of the window - literally and figuratively - as an explosion occurred, making me let go of the railing and fall into the rose bushes

**[Gained 125 EXP]**

**[365 EXP until next level!]**

It took me more than a moment to realize how many had been in the way of that explosion

_'There were twenty-five of them?! How the hell...?'_

A screech alerted me to another one

"Shitshitshit"

One quick roll out of the bushes later and we had switched places, giving me a chance to easily take it out

**[Gained 5 EXP]**

**[360 EXP until next level!]**

God I'm already exhausted

Another explosion knocked me off my feet once again. As soon as I got my bearings, I turned around and discovered the whole house was now nothing more than stone-colored foundations and whatever was left of the walls

I then looked down and was baffled

**[Gained 400 EXP!]**

**[Achievement Gained - 'EXPLOSIONS!']**

**[Kill more than 50 hostile creatures with one big explosion]**

**[Rewards - 50 EXP]**

**[LEVEL UP!]**

**[Stat Screen booting up...]**

**[Process halted due to Administrator Intervention]**

**[Stat Screen booted in Demo Mode]**

**[DEX Stat unlocked!]**

**[890 EXP until next level!]**

_'Only dexterity? Seriously?'_

"Status"

**[Saito]**

**[Level 2]**

**[110/1000]**

**DEX - 8**

_'What the hell?!'_

My body felt immediately lighter. As if I had been carrying around a hundred pounds and all of that weight had been dropped from my shoulders at once. I flexed my fingers and I was amazed at how... efficient it felt

Another grunt pulled me from my amazement

Looking up - all I saw and felt were those things

The horde almost seemed bigger than before. I could barely see the bottom halves of the trees just because their bodies were covering it

I had to run

Far far awa-

_Thunk_

Next thing I knew, I was waking up somewhere new with a _pounding _headache. Like, damn near a migraine on steroids

"Woah there. Don't try and get up. You took a nasty tumble" A new voice warned me from my side, freaking the fuck out of me. It was an old man. Bald with a large grey beard. He was wearing a paint-splattered apron with slacks underneath. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that the walls were still seemingly painted on

_'Still in the dungeon..._ Ok'

"Who are you?"

"Ah, my name doesn't matter, but if you have to call me something, Fred works just fine" He said with a little amusement

"Wait a moment... Frederick?"

Immediately the surprise was on his face "You know of me?"

A scoff escaped my mouth "Of course I do. You made this place, didn't you?"

Some shame crept into his eyes "Yeah... I created this place... A long time ago. Would you like to hear my story? It is quite a long one" He warned

One of my brows rose in interest and I nodded. He gave a heavy sigh

"It all began around 25 years ago. I was still quite a young man, still filled with the ambitions that I had when I was a child. One day, I picked up my brush and painted... This" He waved his hands around the room "I still don't quite know _how _it happened. My brush started to move by itself and the next thing I knew I could stick my hand through the damn canvas without it coming through the other side" The laugh he gave was hollow "I told everyone I knew about what happened but they all thought that I was insane. So, one day, I took my chances and went through. Ended up here. At first, it was beautiful. A perfect representation of all of my works. Then it all went to shit when _he _came through" The way he spat out that word with such venom...

"Who was _he?" _I had to ask. Information was valuable here

"I still don't quite know his name. Never gave it to me. He just called himself 'The Sculptor'" He rose finger quotes as he said the name "I'm certain you've run into those monsters out in the fields? He created them. He controls them. I'm sure he sensed you the moment you stepped onto that hill and sent those things after ya'" A snort "Though, I'm not sure why. As I'm sure you've already discovered, those things are weaker than a damn toddler. The only thing that is scary about them is the amount of 'em."

I nodded and thought for a moment. Frederick took this as a sign to continue

"The Sculptor came in one day and changed this whole landscape. At first, I was excited to have a new person to talk to. I had been here for... 4 years at that point? Hard to remember. He was surprised to find me here. Said the whole town thought that I was dead for a few years at that point. We went on to create so many things together..." A faraway look entered his eyes for a moment before he shook it off "Then everything changed. One day, he decided that he wanted more than just me to talk to and he created those things. They changed him. Obviously not in a good way" Another hollow laugh "Listen. I'm in no condition to stop him anymore" He gestured down at his elderly body "I need your help. You're a Shinobi, or at least as fast as one if what I saw in that forest was the norm. I need you to stop him. I've been fighting him for more than 20 years at this point... Just... Please"

**[Quest Screen booting up...]**

**[NEW QUEST!]**

**[An Artist's Struggle]**

**Frederick, the creator of this dungeon, is in dire need of help! Someone who calls themselves 'The Sculptor' has corrupted Frederick's creation right before his eyes! Kill 'The Sculptor' and put a stop to his machinations**

**[Objectives]**

**Kill 'The Sculptor' []**

**[Bonus Objectives]**

**[?] []**

**[?] []**

**[?] []**

**[Rewards]**

**[Frederick's Paintbrush]**

**+Sculptor's Clay**

**\+ 500 Ryo**

**+2000 Ryo**

**[Yes? I No?]**

I... Kind of expected something like this. Frederick asking for help. Somewhat the Quest screen, or whatever

"Yeah, sure I'll help"

"I know you've only ju- wait what? You'll do it?"

"Yeah. Nothing better to do in here" I shrugged

A smile appeared on his face and he bowed in his seating position

"Thank You, sir"

"Hey hey hey, none of that. Seriously, what else am I going to do, get mauled by those damn Pastel things? Plus, I _do _need to find a way out of here"

He laughed and sat up "Yes, yes you are correct. Still, thank you. If you need any help, do not hesitate to ask. I may be old but I _have _lived here for more than 20 years"

I gave him a laugh of my own and gently got out of the bed, careful to not stumble out. Frederick, the gentleman, got up himself and went to give me some support which I gladly accepted. By this point, the headache was on its way out the door but I wouldn't deny any sort of help

"Question"

He looked at me, an inquisitive look on his face

"How did you find me and carry me here?"

He gave a sheepish look and scratched the back of his head with his free hand

"Well, uh, I kind of... was the one who knocked you out in the first place"

...Damn old men

* * *

_**[Edit - March 17, 2020] Quests! And Stat Points!**_

_**Most things will not stay locked for long. It depends, but I think on average I will be introducing 1-2 new features per chapter. Sometimes more, maybe none, who knows. All that matters is that this character grows before he becomes anywhere near OP**_

_**Tell me how you feel about Frederick! How would you feel if you got trapped in your own drawings for 25 years? Please, send me questions! PM or Review, it doesn't matter. Seriously, even a simple question may fix a giant plot hole in the future and if I can fix it this early, then I will gladly take it**_

_**I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter, as well as the direction that the rewrite is heading in. See you all in the next one**_


	4. The Town that Died

I shook the Elder Man's hand once more as I stood in the middle of the doorway

"Thank you, again, for doing this"

"Hey, don't mention it. I should be thanking you for _these_" I motioned towards the 'Machetes' on my back. They were, like everything else, drawn. However, with testimony from Fred himself, they worked quite well against those 'Pastels' as I was now calling them. Well, it's not like anything _didn't _work against them, but they were certainly more efficient at dealing with them. Though I couldn't see their 'stats', so I suppose that's likely another thing I need to unlock with levels or something

"If we see each other again, it should be when all those things are gone" I assured him as I patted his shoulder. While there was no guarantee that I would find this guy or even beat him if I do find him, it was likely my only way out of here that I knew of

The man didn't say anything else, just choosing to nod and wait until I was completely out of the house before he shut the door. I could hear numerous locks being turned behind it, mostly to keep the Pastels out

I didn't waste much time, quickly turning around and sprinting into the forest. With the new Dexterity stat unlocked, I felt so much faster and lighter, which really helped me maneuver through the heavily forested area

Now, there were no towns or anything here, or at least, none that Fred knew of. While he was a hermit, he was the creator of this place, so I'm going to trust him when he says that there were no buildings anywhere close or far from his, besides Sculptor dude's

Speaking of, I could see the mountain Fred had told me about - between my bed stay and departure - from here. The mountain where Sculpt-y Man was apparently hiding out. I don't know whether or not I trust that, to be honest. It was likely there would be no civilization in here, discounting the hoards of Pastels roaming around, because we three were the only ones who even knew this place existed. On the other hand, there was a chance that Sculptor man would have moved out

Well, if he wasn't there, I suppose he would be searching for me. Either that or hiding someplace else, so I guess I should be exploring on my way...

Either way, I need to head towards that mountain range

* * *

Strange

**[Gained 5 EXP]**

**[795 EXP until next level!]**

It's been a few hours. I was expecting more to show up. Instead, I've encountered maybe... 20? 23? While I _have _been going through a more wooded area, I would have thought there would be more, considering the number last night

They haven't given me much trouble, courtesy of my new weapons. They really were as effective as Fred said they were. The things seemed to be cut apart like butter whenever I attacked them, despite my lack of training

"I'll have to thank him if I see him again"

Anyways, I'll have to continue on my- wait a moment

Is that a town?

What the hell?

I thought Fred said there were no towns or villages from here to the range...

"Keepin' my eyes out, Keepin' my eyes out..."

Of course, I was not going to shy away from exploring. The man said he'd seen nothing from there to my destination, so the fact that this place was here put everything into question

As I walked in, I could hear nothing besides me and my footsteps. Everything had been drawn, obviously, with that same colored pencil aesthetic from the log cabin I exploded before. Speaking of, why _did _that cabin explode? I was just hoping that fire would work and just slowly burn those things to the ground as I ran into the forest, but the entire thing went up in flames and debris as though someone had stuffed a couple of tonnes of TNT in there...

Was it because of the one I had underneath the blanket? Did that cause the explosion?

_I'll have to keep an eye out for that, in case that's actually what happened_

The windows and doors, however, seemed to be boarded up, as if this place had been abandoned. If there were people living here before, I don't know. Eventually, I made it to the center of town where there was a well dug

"No water?" Or at least so far down that I couldn't see the water glisten. Was that why the town had been abandoned? No, that wouldn't make sense... perhaps the water had just evaporated over time? There were holes in the roofing. But they would have fixed that...

Hmm... the only thing left that's feasible is that anyone - if there was anyone - who lived here were chased out by the pastels and either they're in hiding, they died out in the wild, or they were killed by their enemy. However, that wouldn't explain why all of the buildings were boarded up... did someone come back to do so? I wouldn't see why they would...

"Interesting..."

I continued to wander the town, waiting to see if there were any open buildings before I tried to pry open the doors that were boarded up. If I was being watched, I didn't exactly know, either

"Finally..."

It took a few more minutes, but there was finally a place that was not boarded up or, as I discovered from _this_ part of the town, collapsed in on itself

_Creaaak_

The floors decided it would be a nice time to make some noise as my eyes adjusted to the change in light from the outside stepping in

It was... dusty, that was for sure. The whole place was tinted a light gray from how much there was. It looked to be some sort of shop, I suppose? There were also obvious signs of Asian architecture, though I suppose that should be a given seeing as how everything _else _was as well

I ran my finger over a countertop to my right and it came off the same color as the countertop currently was, leaving a small streak where I did it

"Old..."

Looking around more, the place seemed perfectly fine. Despite everything that I'd seen around the rest of town, if this dust wasn't here, it'd look perfectly fine to live or shop in. There were stairs in the back leading up and down, so I went up first

"Locked?" It seemed as though the door, which was really just an attic 'trapdoor' I suppose, was chained shut, and from my attempts to push, also chained from the other side as well "I guess I'll go down, then..."

The basement, luckily, was not chained. It was, however, very dark. Enough that my eyes barely adjusted to everything down there

"Storage room, I suppose" I commented upon seeing the shelves, empty and dry. No bad smells or anything to indicate food rotting. Did that mean the stock was all taken during the escape? Or was it never here? Again, I'm assuming that people, real or drawn, lived in this town

_tick tick tick_

My head whipped around. "Was that-?" It sure as hell sounded like the pitter-patter of footsteps. I swear to god if this turns into a horror movie again...

Slowly, I walked back upstairs, unsheathing one of my blades in the process. Looking down as I got to ground level, I could see that the dust on the floor, besides my own footsteps, had not been disturbed. I looked upstairs to check if the door was still chained and... nope. It wasn't

"Son of a bitch..."

I'd seen enough horror films to know where this was going. The question was, was I going to be the smart one and get the hell out of here? Or was I going to be the idiot and continue exploring?

...I mean, I had a weapon...

Shaking my head, I let out a breath, disturbing a layer of dust on a stair that was right by my face. Calmly - yeah right - I walked up to the previously chained trap door and lifted it from its hinges, letting out, surprisingly, a large amount of light

As it turned out, there was a large hole in the roof which I did not see before coming in. There looked to be a sort of bird nest laying on top of the hole, but whether or not there were actual birds in it was debatable

Looking around, there didn't seem to be anyone there. As was the case down below, the floor was covered in dust, making everything seem a lot more gray in contrast. The dust didn't seem disturbed, showing no signs of any sort of footsteps that I'd heard below

"I'm stuck in a horror movie, aren't I?"

Of course, I was not going to leave without investigating, so I let the door fall outwards, kicking up a large cloud of charlie brown dust, and went to look around. Everything that was up there seemed to be covered in some sort of tarp-ish material or boxed up. Then, I discovered a letter

_'Kimiyo_

_You're going to wake up later and feel confused. You'll probably figure it out fast, like the smart girl you are. Probably hate me. I accept that. Just know, we all love you. If we survive this, know that I_ will _come back for you. Rinnha Gai will live again_

_Hate me all you want, but know that I will always love you'_

"A farewell letter?"

That confirmed that there were at least people living here... or this was being fabricated by the dungeon itself

What happened to cause this, however? It seemed my theories of them being pushed out might be the case, but that doesn't quite make sense

Deciding that I'd looked up here enough, I went back down to the basement where there was likely to be more. Sure enough, I did end up finding a journal. Who it was by, however, I wouldn't know until reading

_'Day 1_

_They really did it. I told them I'd stay here and protect this place with my life, but I didn't think they would really leave like this. Hiruken left with them as well. I can't believe those black creatures would scare them so much that they'd leave the town that they swore they would protect'_

So it was because of those things...

_'Day 21_

_I haven't added a new entry in here since the first day. I've taken to boarding up most of the buildings around town. I'm still getting used to this whole drawing thing, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. Hiruken said he'd come back, but by now I've nearly given up hope. If he does end up coming back, I'm going to beat his ass'_

So she's the reason why everything is boarded up. It also doesn't seem like they were drawn, but as though they came here through the painting as I did. Did Fred not know of this, or something else? There were a few entries and torn out pages in between the next major one

_'Day 76_

_Those things have skyrocketed in population in the last three months. Back when everyone was still here, we'd see maybe one of them a week, but now I'm seeing hordes streaming through town with seemingly no end to them. Just last night, another one marched through and exploded, of all things, tearing down Gensoku's old home. Scared the absolute hell out of me. I'm going to see what I can't do to prevent this from reaching too much of an extreme'_

Well, that proves it

**[Hidden Quest Completed]**

**[What happened to Rinnha Gai?]**

**[Objective]**

**Find out what happened to the people of Rinnha Gai [x]**

**[Bonus Objective]**

**Find the survivors of Rinnha Gai [-]**

**[Reward]**

**+500 EXP**

**[295 EXP until next level]**

Huh. That's interesting

My head whipped around, catching a hand that was aimed for my neck

"Kimiyo, I presume?"

* * *

_**What's up Ya'll**_

_**Sorry for the late update. I developed a pretty huge block after the last one that pretty much prevented me from thinking up anything good to bridge 3 and 4 until now. Should be around one or two more chapters of this dungeon until we get back into the meat of the story - aka back into the Naruto world**_

_**Be sure and let me know your opinions on how this is all progressing. I'll see you all in the next one, which hopefully shouldn't take as long**_


	5. Decrepit

"So, let me get this straight..." I looked at the woman sitting across from me, the only thing in between us being a large campfire. She'd just finished telling me the entire story of how this town came to be and how it subsequently fell "Your people somehow found their way inside of this place through that painting and decided you'd make a life for yourselves here?"

She meekly nodded

"And you didn't even attempt to find some way to get out?"

She muttered something under her breath

"What was that?"

"I said we didn't want to find a way out!" The woman broke "This place had everything we'd ever want and more. All we needed to do was create it. Sure, the whole drawing thing was strange at first, and I never really got the hang of it until this all went down, but it was better than what we had out there! We had nothing! This gave us the chance to have _something" _

I sighed "Well, obviously your people didn't share the same views, huh?"

Kimiyo looked back down at the ground, frowning while pursing her lips together

"Listen," I began "You can stay here all you like. I have no use for a dead town and I'll be gone in the morning. All I need is any _useful_ information you might have on the man who created all of these creatures roaming the lands. If you have nothing, no big deal. I'll be on my way"

She didn't say anything after a few minutes, so I presumed it was a no. Didn't say anything when I got up to find a good place to sleep either. And so, that was it for the night

* * *

When I woke up, Kimiyo was gone. Or at least was somewhere I was not aware of, so she either decided not to give me any sort of information or she had none in the first place. Not my problem, nor did I really care all that much. She was dumb enough to try and keep this town alive and I wanted no part in it

And so, I continued on with my journey north, breaking only to eat what old Fred gave me as well as drink. It would be two days before I stood before the base of the mountain range

Sadly, or thankfully, depending on how you want to look at it, nothing else such as the Town happened in the time that I was traveling. I _did, however,_ kill enough of those pastels that I was nearly level 3

**[35 EXP until next level]**

The rate that they showed up didn't change much from what they were during my initial departure, otherwise, I'm sure I'd be halfway to level 4 by now, but I'm happy with this kind of progress. Once I get out of here... I don't know how easily I'll be able to farm EXP like this, so I'm trying to take as much of an advantage as I can without spending too much time

At any rate, I began my hike upwards. A slow and steady climb

_This mountain was fucking huge_

Not to mention the gear that Old Fred provided me was just _barely _suitable for this kind of environment. Honestly, I think he was senile and I just missed it during our talk

Time ended up passing quickly. At this point, there were basically zero of those creatures standing in my way. Whether it was from the colder environment, because of my close proximity, or both, I didn't know

The birds that flew overhead seemed to be bigger than normal as well... actually, now that I thought about it, there didn't seem to be _any _wildlife besides the birds...

A thought to think about later, for now, I had to get to climbing

* * *

_Fuck. Climbing._

It's been nearly four days and I feel as though I haven't moved an inch. I'd swear there's an escalator or something bringing me down if this weren't a damn _mountain_

Maybe I'd think it was a Genjutsu if it weren't for the fact that I was almost a thousand percent sure Sculpty man doesn't know how to perform anything close to what this is causing me

Maybe...

I took a trip back down the mountain, reaching the place where I started. No immediate difference. I backed up about a football field's length and peered through the trees

...A cave

This man somehow put up some sort of illusion or barrier to keep his cave from prying eyes. Works with civilians at least. I wouldn't know how good they would be against actual shinobi...

Walking back up to the base of the mountain, I kept my eyes on the cave entrance. Sure enough, it disappeared as I exited the tree line, but I still remembered the general location. Wasn't too far up, thankfully, and only took a twenty-odd minute trip. When I reached where I kept my eyes on, I cautiously put my hand to what seemed to be the rock face and was happily surprised to see my hand go straight through it, along with my entire body, straight into the hole

It was fairly dark, so I had to move my hands around the walls until my eyes adjusted to the lack of light. Thankfully, it was taller than me - the cave height - allowing me to comfortably walk down into the darkness.

"It's you" an aged voice echoed in the darkness, making me jump a little "I knew you'd come"

Wait. I knew that voice

"Fred?"

"Oh? You know that name? I shed it long ago. You know, you've been destroying my creations as though they were pests. Why do you do such a thing?"

There are two Freds? No, wait a minute - "You do realize that your creations have been corrupting this land, right? They practically destroyed a town about ten miles south of here leaving only one survivor"

"A town? I was not aware of any sort of town? You must be mistaken" I could hear the confusion in his voice. Did he truly not know what the things were doing to this land?

"It was named Rinnha Gai. Maybe 50 odd residents, reduced down to one woman" I informed him "Do you truly not know what those things are doing?"

It was silent for a moment before I heard him release a shaky breath

"You... you're telling the truth, aren't you? My creations, my friends, I thought they were out doing good in the land. Creating some sort of... society for themselves. I did not imagine creating mindless creatures like this"

It couldn't be this easy, could it?

"Thank you... for telling me this. I... I should... I need to do something" Suddenly, the room lit up, allowing me to see the man. He was decrepit and wrinkly, pretty much skin and bones at this point - literally. He had his hands in some sort of seal, shakily albeit. Slowly, he moved them to another position and I felt a burst of air wash over me

"I... I got rid of their sentience. They should be no more than piles of clay... at this point" He let out a long, drawn-out breath before taking a new one in "I don't know how long I've been here... Years? Decades? Centuries? Perhaps even... longer. Tell me, is the Ootsutsuki clan still around?"

"Ootsutsuki? No, they went extinct years ago" At least, that was what I was presuming "Are you one of them perhaps?"

He let out a sound that almost seemed like a laugh "No... no, I am not. I was a servant... for the clan. I only... learned this technique... through their generosity and kindness... though, it seems... it did more harm than good... this painting realm was meant to be... my masterpiece..." A smile tugged at his aged lips. He would likely die soon "I don't know... what kept me alive... all those years. I am dying" He coughed hard, making me assume he nearly died that moment "Once I do... take anything you want"

It was really that easy, huh?

"Thanks, Old Man" It's only polite to say thank you, I suppose...

For the next minute or two, I would hear the occasional breath and inhale, each one getting farther and farther apart until, after a period of around five minutes or so, I was sure he died

"Well, damn... That was anticlimactic"

* * *

Turns out, the reward stated in the quest were the items Fred had given me. Speaking of, the other one confused me. Was he some sort of drawing? Maybe a forbidden technique? Now that the original is gone, who knows. In any case, I completed the quest

[An Artist's Struggle]

Frederick, the creator of this dungeon, is in dire need of help! Someone who calls themselves 'The Sculptor' has corrupted Frederick's creation right before his eyes! Kill 'The Sculptor' and put a stop to his machinations

[Objectives]

Kill 'The Sculptor' [ x ]

[Bonus Objectives]

Convince The Sculptor to step down through words alone [ x ]

Discover the mystery of Rinnha Gai [ x ]

[?] [-]

[Rewards]

[Frederick's Paintbrush]

+Sculptor's Clay

\+ 500 Ryo

Not a whole lot of cash, but two items that were strangely interesting

**[Frederick's Paintbrush] - C**

**A strange item whose origins are unknown but it is presumed that it was made by the branch of Ootsutsuki that lived here on Earth - A clan created by Kaguya Ootsutsuki. It can be used to create seemingly painted three-dimensional objects. The quality of the object is dependent on your imagination and skill with the brush, though objects and weapons infused with special powers are nearly impossible to make. You cannot make edible food via painting it, not can you bend reality with the brush**

**[Sculptor's Clay] - C**

**Another strange object likened to be not too dissimilar to the Explosion Release Clay that certain Shinobi of Iwagakure are known to use. It can be used, like the brush, to create anything without magical or special properties through just your imagination and skill. With enough practice, it can even be used to create human beings with thoughts and feelings, though this is supposedly impossible**

Two relatively decent items. I didn't know if I would be using them too often, but they were there if needed. On another note -

**[First Field Dungeon Completed!]**

**For the completion of your first Field Dungeon on Easy Difficulty, you are being rewarded -**

**+1000 EXP**

**Any future completions of Easy Difficulty Field Dungeons will grant a reduced reward dependent on your level**

**[LEVEL UP!]**

**Inventory Unlocked!**

**END Unlocked!**

Two? Now that was interesting

**[Saito]**

**[Level 3]**

**[965/2000]**

**DEX - 8**

**END - 12**

Excuse me while I cry as my body cramps up

* * *

_**Final chapter of the Artist Field Dungeon complete! I would have liked if there was one more chapter, going into depth on the two Freds and making the ending a bit more fleshed out, but I couldn't think of anything to bridge it and I felt this 'arc' was going on for far too long**_

_**We will be focusing on the Naruto Content - hopefully - for about twice as long, likely more, before the next Field Dungeon pops up. Make a guess. Where will Saito go now?**_


	6. Off to see the Rebels!

At some point, I passed out due to the pain and when I woke up, I was back in the alleyway where the painting once was along with the paintbrush and a sack where I presumed the Clay was - both of which I did not stuff into my new inventory beforehand

Truly, I don't know why I would have passed out, nor why I experienced so much pain. Was it the Endurance stat hardening my body, or something similar? That would explain the cramps I got. Honestly, I shook it off, no use thinking about it when it's already happened. Though I'll need to keep that in mind for the future, in something similar happens while I'm in a fight.

In any case, my 500 Ryo was sitting next to me, begging to be stolen, so I snatched that and my two items up and went to buy a bit of bread

"What are you doing here...?" The man from before looked at me suspiciously "I told you, I ain't selling if you ain't got money. Payin' customers only" He made a little 'shoo' gesture with his hand as he went back to kneading from behind the corner. He only looked up when he heard the distinct clatter of metal against wood, accompanied by paper bills of course

His eyes narrowed, but otherwise, he didn't care as he picked out a long bag and set it down on the table, snatching the money up in the process "Here. S' all you're gonna get"

The man was rude, but I got my bread. Was only 50 Ryo as well

I took a bite out of it and nearly stumbled. So much better than drawn food which - frankly - kind of had the aftertaste of paint and Crayola. As I wandered down the street, taking large bites out of the fresh bread, I figured I should probably test out the two items myself before I left them somewhere and forgot about them

Finding a relatively cut off area filled with trees and stuff, I pulled the brush out first. "I'll paint on the tree..."

Just something basic. A ball. And as I was painting it, I realized I had zero actual paint. "It fabricates what you want? Fascinating" The brush had basically made red paint out of thin air for it, which was strange. It was just a quick turn of the wrist to complete the 'painting' - which wasn't quite a ball at all. The rough nature of the bark broke the paint up and made me create bumps in the thing. It resembled a ball, I suppose

As soon as I finished, something miraculous happened. The 'ball' peeled off of the tree and inflated itself as it fell to the ground, becoming a three-dimensional object. Because of the irregularities, however, it did not bounce, but rather just sat there, long gashes in it that didn't seem to affect it in any way.

"Weird..."

For now, I would put the brush in my inventory. It seemed similar to what Sai did in the series, but right now, it was not for me. Next, I pulled out the bag of clay and reached in to take a glob of it. It was strangely soft and kind of warm. I only took enough to fill my hand

Kneading it, I shaped it into some sort of Chibi figure. It didn't take long, but it didn't quite end up turning out how I would expect. It kind of looked like a potato with thumbs for limbs, if I was being honest. For a finishing touch, I poked some eye, nose, and mouth holes for the thing and waited

Sure enough, after a moment or two, it started wiggling around. I did not like it at all. As soon as the thing started making sounds? Nuh-uh. That felt _wrong _

Both of the items would be staying in my inventory for the foreseeable future. I could see them _maybe_ having a use later on, but currently, they were just not for me

Now that I'd tested both of them, I walked back to an Inn that I'd saw while walking around. Just a typical two-story tall building. Nothing special

"How much for a room?" I asked a man behind the front counter who had been reading a distinct orange book

"Huh...? Oh, 100 for a night. 150 extra for food and drink" He drawled out, eyes not even moving from the book he was holding

I dropped 100 on the counter. 250 would be most of my money and I had a feeling I'd need that if I wanted to travel anywhere out of this town. He grabbed the money with his spare hand and threw me a key after putting the cash somewhere under the desk "Room 23. Second floor. Return the key no later than 10 tomorrow or you'll need to pay an additional fee"

Shrugging, I just grabbed the key and went upstairs, turning in for the night in the lackluster room

* * *

"1000 for travel anywhere outside of town, kid," A man who was seated in the driver's seat of a carriage told me with a small grimace "Because of the trouble down in Kiri, we're having a hard time doing transports without being attacked by their shinobi. Can't exactly ask for help against them either. Usually, it would have been closer to 250, but we've now gotta pay for security and stuff so that we aren't murdered on the road. Sorry, kid"

"Well, do you have a map that I could have?" I was cursing whoever the hell was doing this to me up above "I don't quite know this area too well, so anything would be helpful"

The man looked at me for a moment before sighing to himself "Sure, I've got one. I'll give it to you for 25"

"Deal" I reached into my pocket and brought out the cash as he handed me a rolled-up piece of parchment in exchange. I checked it immediately and it looked to be correct

"We're in the town of Youna, around... here" He reached down and pointed at an island relatively close to where I presumed Kirigakure was "If you manage to make it down here" He pointed to a little alcove towards the North-West coast "There will be a harbor, small. Unless Roku changed the prices, you should be able to get a ferry to one of Kumo's ports or Wave. That's all I can help you with, kid" He shrugged

I just kept looking down at the map as I walked away, leaving the carriage driver to do whatever he needed to do

_'Kiri, huh? Either we're in war-time or the bloodline purges are happening... perhaps I can get in good with the rebel forces and grab some training from them? I'd likely be forced to join them... This is the easiest way I can think of to grab some training that doesn't involve committing myself to one place"_

While the benefits of becoming a Konoha Shinobi or something similar are immense, I need everything that I can get my hands on. If that means keeping my choices open by not becoming bound to one nation, then I'll do that. Once I'm sure I can't grab anything else by just wandering, I'll make a choice

In any case, I needed something to defend myself with. While I did have my machetes in my inventory as well as the clay and paintbrush, Shinobi were no joke. Even though I've never fought one before, I knew that I was not up to par with anyone who could wield chakra, especially those who likely had war experience and were out there attacking caravans and transports.

_'Speaking of, I can't believe I forgot this. Don't I get a random weapon? Where is that?"_

**[NEW QUEST!]**

**[It's Not a Phase, Mom!]**

**After discovering your location and likely timeline, you have come to the conclusion that you are in the middle of the Bloodline Purges of Kiri! Locate the nearest Rebel Forces Camp and join them!**

**[Objectives]**

**Find the Nearest RFC [ ]**

**Join the Kiri Rebels [ ]**

**(Optional) Instead of the Rebel Forces, Join the main island under the Fourth Mizukage- Yagura. ****Kill those bloodline rebel scum! **** [ ]**

**[Bonus Objectives]**

**[?]**

**[?]**

**[Rewards]**

**+Random Weapon**

**\+ Shinobi Grade Training**

**\+ 1000 EXP**

**[Yes? | No?]**

Oh. That's where it is. Fun!

* * *

**OMAKE**

* * *

"Art is an Explosion!"

"Old man, you've been alive for this long and you can't tell that true art is everlasting? Are you daft?"

"It seems I'm going to have to pound this philosophy into you..." The decrepit old man began to change appearance - seemingly regaining his old youthful vitality. Strangely enough, he looked weirdly feminine and similar to another character who used clay...

"What the hell, old man?!" I jumped back as clay from his many creations began to converge upon himself, forming layer upon layer. I had to leave the cave and when I looked back, the man had broken through the face of the mountain, layers beginning to form a humanoid shape

**"I'll show you, boy," **A deep voice said, echoing into the world **"You don't know what true art is! Let me give you a demonstration!"**

Oh, oh no no no

**"True art... is an EXPLOSION!"**

He began to expand exponentially, then there was a loud noise before everything was replaced by white

"Huh. I never expected that to happen" The feminine voice from before spoke out from all around me "Oh well, time to send you back"

The floor opened to reveal the same forest below me "No, waitwaitwait!"

_Thunk_

* * *

_**Little Omake that I thought up with the help of a review. You know who you are. Can't believe I didn't write an argument about art in between old Fred and Saito. That would have made things 10x better. It's too late now, though**_

_**This chapter was basically just an interlude into the next 'arc' I suppose. Many of you might recognize the direction in which I'm heading mirroring the previous version of this story. This just feels like a direction I can easily thread towards and expand upon. I'm hoping that this next arc will contain a whole lot more action, though the Dungeon from before wasn't truly meant to contain too much in the way of big boy explosions and epic fight scenes. It was an easy level after all**_

_**Thank you all for the support! I'll see you in the next one**_


	7. Captured and Released

I didn't know if I was having a bad time or if I was just overthinking things. I've asked everyone from Youna about what they knew of the rebels and _each and every one of them_ said they knew nothing before finding a way away from me. I knew what the reasons were, but I thought there would have been at least _somebody _to tell me

That's not even the worst part. I've traveled to three other towns. Three whole other towns and not one of them had any sort of information on where I could find the Kiri Rebels. Honestly, I didn't think I was being too thorough, but I would have thought maybe someone would be recruiting or something?

Guess they really do need to keep their privacy. Mainland must be hunting them down hardcore

Right now, I was in the fifth town. A place called Awa - right by the northwestern sealine. A bit farther west was the bridge to get to the island where I was told the harbor was, but that didn't seem like the best action right now

Awa was a fishing town, through and through. Claims they haven't had any Shinobi, let alone Bloodline users, come from their town since the First War. I don't quite believe that. Why? Well, it was part of the reason why I was currently halfway over the sealine wall.

It was solid. Well maintained too. They claim, from the questions I've asked, that they just want to make sure flooding doesn't happen, so they clean and maintain the wall every week or so

I don't believe that. Nobody has a completely solid wall like this right by the ocean and not have holes or anything similar. There wasn't even filler to cover them up

'_Earth Release? Perhaps?'_

It was the work of a Shinobi. Either mainland or bloodline. Leaning towards bloodline just because of their denial whenever asked if they have one in town, but that could be wrong

"Beautiful ocean, isn't it?" A man, looking in his mid 50's with a graying beard and bald head, said to me, leaning both arms on the wall. He was dressed in the robes reminiscent of many Kiri Civilians - blue and wavy. He looked over at me with a grin "I'm a fisherman. Catch almost three tonnes a day, but I can never get tired of that beautiful blue"

The smell of alcohol came drifting over to me, making my nose twitch. He'd definitely been drinking for a while now.

'_Maybe I can get something out of him?' _

"It is… You know what I think? Once these Rebels are taken care of, this ocean will be pure again. Know what I'm saying?"

He let out a loud burp before cheering "Damn right brother! Lemme tell you a little secret" He waved me in. Looking at him strangely, I cautiously did so, keeping on my guard

"Mizukage-Sama sent me here to do some maintenance and stuff to the dams around the area. It's so boring! I thought I'd be able to take out the camp down south, but I'm stuck here doing all this dumb labor, fishing in my spare time to try and do something other than what they sent me here to do. Sometimes I question Mizukage-Sama's methods, but he's doing Kami's work" He sighed and leaned back, reaching into his robes and pulling out a bottle before taking a large swig

"You have my condolences. I'm sure he has his reasons, but I agree. If I were you I'd want to take out those bloodline scum as fast as possible"

"Right?! I'm glad someone gets me! Can't even do any training either because then I'll blow my cover…" He must be insanely drunk if he didn't know he was blowing it right now "Hey, it was nice talkin' to ya. Had to get that off my chest. Maybe I'll stop drinkin' now'' He began to walk away and then stopped, having supposedly though about the idea "Nahhhhh"

I watched as he tipped and turned, walking up the cobblestone roads of the town. About fifty feet up a hill in the distance, the man fell face first before rolling back down. Yeah… drunk off his ass. People walking by didn't care either. This probably happens all the time

"I'm not going to complain…" The man had just told me a general direction in which a rebel camp might be, which was more than I've gotten so far. Though, if it is accurate or not, I don't know. Again, however, this is the first lead I've obtained so far, so I wasn't just going to ignore it

So, after camping outside the town for the night, I began to head south, braving the dangers of the wild for a lead I was not even sure was accurate

'_This quest better be damn well worth it'_

* * *

Well… there was certainly a camp here. That's for sure. What happened to it, however…

**Find the Nearest RFC [x]**

"Looks like the Mainland got to it before I did… fuck"

The entire thing was burnt to the ground. Mummified corpses littered the scorched earth inside and around metal poles that probably once held tents and such up

As I walked through the site, I felt the heat radiate off of the ground, marking it as likely pretty recent. I made sure to keep an eye out

Ice and, surprisingly, bones littered the area, signifying both Yuki and Kaguya clan members were here. That was the only physical evidence, however, so it was likely there was a majority of people with bloodlines that affected their body mostly as well as rebel sympathizers

As I passed by one of the bodies, I realized they were carrying a scroll - probably a message. Somehow, it was not burned to ash…

"Let's see here" Carefully, I reached down and plucked it out of the body's hand, brushing off the ash and dust that had smothered the thing "Seals, eh?" On the lip of the scroll, the place where you unraveled it from, was a row of Kanji. Probably a locking mechanism and anti-sabotage seal

As I didn't know what would happen, I tucked it safely in my inventory. It might be likely there's important information in there

"Look what we have here" Shit "Looks like one o' them survived" Slowly, I put my hands up, standing from my kneeling position

"He knows what's smart for him at least" Another one called out. They were right behind me, so I couldn't tell if they were under Yagura or if they were their own faction. It was highly likely that they were under Yagura, however. One of them came up and grabbed my hands, yanking them behind me before tying them back. Immediately, I felt weighed down by something heavy. Gravity seals? On handcuffs?

"We're takin' this one back to the village. Public execution sound good for him?" The first one asked as he walked around the front of me, grinning stupidly

"Yeah, sounds great" The second one likely nodded after that, though he was behind me so I couldn't tell. Right after he said that he pushed me forward, indirectly demanding I walk

"Get a move on, you pile of filth!" There was his demand

Guess I'm going to have to find a way out of this

* * *

I awoke the next morning to a light thud on the ground. An insanely light thud. I almost didn't catch it and if I wasn't sleeping on the hard, debris littered ground, I probably wouldn't have. As I tried to pull myself up, I heard quick footsteps towards my direction

"Hey, hey, shh, we've got you, we've got you" A masculine voice tried soothing me. I couldn't exactly see quite yet due to the early morning gunk in my eyes "Lemme get those bindings off"

The footsteps moved around my back and hands grabbed my bound ones for a moment before a there was a quick _snap _and I could move again, arms included

Rubbing the shit out of my eyes, I finally got to see who it was

"You hurt anywhere? Bruises? Abrasions? Cuts?" He was about 5'9'' with short brown hair, wearing a typical green flak vest. His hand was glowing green, signifying the use of some kind of medical ninjutsu and had a waiting look in his eyes

"No... I'm fine" Superficial injuries at most. Nothing to warrant him healing me over. I picked myself off the ground and onto my feet "You guys are part of the rebel forces?"

He nodded "I'm Gensoku" Then pointed to another person I didn't see before "That there's Shize" She was taller than him, that was for sure, reaching six feet at least. Her hair was cut short, about shoulder length, and was wearing a full-body ANBU uniform, gloves and mask included. What put me off was the stark white hair that contrasted against the uniform's black along with her two dotted eyebrows "Oh, the hair? She's a Kaguya. I'm surprised you're wearing it so open like that, Shize"

"No use wasting chakra on keeping my hair a secret" She monotonously said

"Don't worry about her" He gave a quick laugh and turned back to me "They captured you for a reason, right?" I noticed the two bodies laying on the ground, one of them I recognized as the guy who had been in front of me the trip here "If you have a bloodline, we can help you. Join the fight, save lives. We were just passing through when we saw you here, so there must've been a reason"

'_One-way ticket to completing this quest? I'll take it'_

"Yeah… sure" Then I remembered something. I reached into my clothes as a guise, reaching into my inventory instead and pulling out the scroll I'd picked up before "I was at another camp when they caught me. The place was burned to the ground. This was all I could find"

Gensoku took the scroll and examined it for a moment, nodding and throwing it to Shize where she stowed it away somewhere

"Suprised they didn't take it off you, though it seems they were poorly trained in the first place. Thank you for picking it up" He bowed a little for emphasis

"Let's get you back to the nearest camp. I'm sure one of the generals are going to want to speak with you about that scroll and your abilities"

* * *

_**This one was really late and kinda short. Apologies. Got sucked into a few IRL things and lost track of my projects. Hope you all enjoy this one though. **_


	8. Offer

Gensoku and his partner, after taking the scroll I'd grabbed, escorted me to their nearest camp. By escort, I mean, Shize put me on her back and the two of them ran to the camp by themselves, which was _slightly _embarrassing, but considering I was still tired as hell from the night before, my appreciation outweighed my embarrassment

We ended up arriving about a day after they discovered me, and goddamn was it a shit hole. I could almost relate it to the camps that were frequently shown in medieval recreations and shows which peasants would use, but even still, this was not comparable.

It was covered in mist, impeding the visibility of the camp itself. Bound leather tents - I thought, at least? - were set up in the gloopy mud that acted as the foundation for the place. The sounds of pounding metal emanated from all around me and smoke arose from various places in the camp from fires and the like.

I could hear sounds of metal striking metal from the east, perhaps people training against each other and such

"Agent. You're back… with someone new" One of the people who had been walking around stopped us. Or, more specifically, stopped Gensoku

"Sir!" He saluted by putting a fist over the right side of his chest "We're back from scheduled Recon. Camp Takka has been wiped. No survivors besides him, sir. He's... new" The shinobi informed, tilting his head in my direction towards the end

The man who'd stopped us cursed under his breath, letting out a sigh before nodding "Alright, get back to command for debriefing as soon as you can. Are you taking the newbie to Medical or are you going straight there?"

"Straight there, Sir" Gensoku immediately said "Saito here has no major injuries. Shize carried him because he would be too slow otherwise and we needed to get back here as soon as possible to inform everyone of what happened at Takka"

The other one nodded once again "Good. I need to leave now, so I'll catch up with the others later when I return. I'm glad I caught you and got the news before I attempted to see what happened over there with my own squad" He sighed "Right, dismissed"

"General!" Gensoku and Shize under me saluted

He was a general? Looked a bit young… then again, we were in the world of Naruto of all places. It made morbid sense

With no further explanation, we continued into the Camp. Soon enough, we managed to reach the center where the central tent was located

"When we go inside, don't speak unless asked to, alright? We'll be handling the debriefing" Gensoku said to me as Shize set me down on the ground - finally

"Got it" I didn't feel like putting up a fuss and there wasn't anything I had to say which needed to be said right this instant

We made our way inside and damn was it not any better than outside. I really don't know if I should be disappointed about that or thankful that they weren't greedy assholes, keeping the nice tent all to themselves

"Agent" A white-haired man - possibly a Kaguya? - looking to be about in his mid to late 40's addressed Genoku as we passed through a thin layer of cloth to face a half-circle rotunda of people, all of whom stopped whatever conversation they were having in order to look at us as we came inside

"Shize" He addressed the woman next to me as well who almost inaudibly clicked her tongue.

Probably a Kaguya, yeah

"I see you're back, Gensoku," Another one said, younger and also white-haired with sharp teeth. I believe those were Hozuki characteristics?

"With another person, as well" He muttered that last bit before shaking his head and turning back to my male charge "What do you have to report?"

"Sir" The man beside me saluted in the same way he did the other man - facing the row of people all sitting in the crescent circle "Routine surveillance went smoothly. Unfortunately, Camp Takka has been completely wiped off the map. We found this man here captured by Purist forces about three kilometers northwest from the camp. He'd picked up some valuable information before he was captured and managed to keep it from the purists who had him. We thought it smart to bring him over" Gensoku quickly but smoothly recounted the events which had happened

"Takka has been wiped out huh…?" The first one questioned, mostly to himself and the others in the circle.

"What are the contents of this information?" A mundane looking woman off to the side asked us, cutting off the whispering which had started between the other men and women

"Ma'am" Gensoku saluted before pulling out the scroll "We don't know the exact contents, but going off of it's appearance…" He trailed off, handing the thing over

The woman furrowed her brows and gently grasped the thing, unfurling it to read. Talk still went on between the others, but a look of concern came upon the woman's face as time went on

"Gensoku, do you trust this man enough for a Code Brown?" She asked abruptly, quickly rolling the contents of the scroll back up before pressing her fingers to the seam - making a formation appear

'_Wait what…?' _I stared at the technique, ignoring the look of concern and surprise which flashed across Gensoku's and Shize's faces respectively '_I've never seen _that _method being used before…? How the hell?'_

"Unfortunately, no Ma'am. It would be better if we took him to medical first before that" Gansoku spoke, ripping me from my thoughts

"Go do that, Agent. Report back as soon as possible. Shize, stay here. I'll debrief you both when the time comes"

The two gave a brief salute before Gensoku dragged me off, leaving Shize standing there

I was still confused but snapped out of it completely as we exited the tent and the ringing of metal against metal once again reached my ears

'_Time to get a medical exam, I suppose?' _I grimaced as I followed quickly behind my charge '_Not looking forward to this…'_

* * *

Surprisingly, my worries of all the medical equipment being unsanitary and dirty were unfound as we made our way into a very large and very nice looking tent complex. It seems there had been a skilled Earth user who came by and set the wet mud into a brick pattern

Why they hadn't done that for the rest of the camp, I didn't quite know. Perhaps some kind of tactic depended on it?

The patient tents looked somewhat clean and I could see, whenever patients were dragged by, that they had well-prepared bandages and medical treatment through ninjutsu and physical means

"Forgive me" Gensoku started as he noticed me looking around at everything "I haven't told you about this place's purpose yet, have I?"

I shook my head but shrugged right after "You don't really need to apologize. I'm still an unknown, after all, and only a teenager"

He just smiled before looking forward, the both of us slowing our pace to a leisurely speed.

"This here is Camp Ueno. As you might have already guessed, the upper echelons of the Rebel Government operate out of this location, while also dual operating as one of our most important medical facilities" He pointed down as he said the last part, making me nod while also quirking a brow upwards

'_Dunno why he's telling me all of this… I'm definitely not cleared of my background yet' _I was curious but let it go. Perhaps me getting captured was proof enough?

...Doubt it

Our talk was cut short as Gensoku entered a tent, myself following right behind

"Gen-Chan, what are you- Oh, who's this?" A young woman greeted us as we entered, quirking her head to the side as she addressed me

"Rika, you're working here today? I thought…" Gensoku shook his head, stopping himself from the long talk he was about to have "Nevermind that, this is Saito. Got captured before Shize and I pulled him out on our last patrol. He's here for a checkup"

The woman hummed before nodding "Sensei! Newbie over here!" The change in tone nearly made me step back a foot or two. Where before she was gentle and soft in addressing me, the way she shouted was gruff and grizzled

'_What the hell?'_

Before I could think up any theories, a disheveled looking woman appeared from one of the off-shooting tent flaps, black hair all over the place and uniform wrinkled. She seemed to be in her early thirties, at least, and haggard from a night of drinking

"Hana, shut the fuck up" She said simply before looking in our direction "Oh, Gen. How are you?"

"I'm doing well, Sensei" He said with a smile before pointing a thump over at me "Got someone new for you"

Her eyes trailed over to where I was standing, snorting at my appearance "Didn't even notice the kid. Where'd you find 'im? I'm surprised he's not dead yet…" She seemed slightly impressed towards the end

"He was captured by some brave mainlander duo. Thought I'd do my good deed for the week and rescue him"

The woman whistled sharply at the new information "Damn, Kid. You've either got some balls of steel or some god of luck smiled down on ya"

I just laughed nervously, scratching my head

'_Yeah… Some god alright'_

"Well, 'nough of that" She waved me over "Gotta take a look at ya' - make sure nothing's wrong or anythin'"

I moved over to where she shepherded me, sitting on a decent sized earthen medical bed. However, as soon as it happened, I regretted it. The doctor's face came _way _too close and I could smell the reek of alcohol all over her. How I didn't smell it before, I have no idea, but goddamn was it apparent now

"Don't tense, you'll screw the diagnostic up" She berated me as I watched a green colored hand get closer.

What? I've never really seen _real _ninjutsu up until now, so it freaked me out a bit, ok?

The diagnostic was placed over my chest and held there for a moment where I listened to the alcoholic hum and make other noises for the better part of ten minutes or so

"Eh, nothing wrong with you. At least, from what I can tell, anyways. Chakra's still locked up tight and there's a bit of atrophy in your muscles from minor malnutrition, but nothing really out of place"

I breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that the witch in the clouds didn't place cancer or something in my body. I would have killed myself and strangled her when I made my way back

...well, she might've, and the doctor in front of me is just not good enough to detect it, but I doubted that strongly.

"Take him to the mess halls, get him something to eat. I'm sure the top brass will accept him. We need every single man, after all, even if we need to train them from the ground up" The doctor looked back at Gensoku as she said that, glancing back at me as she ended her statement

"Will do" Gensoku smiled and waved "Let's get out of here, Saito"

I was glad to be leaving

* * *

The food which was served in the mess hall was, understandably, pretty shit, but it was _something _at the very least. The doctor was right when she said I had minor malnutrition. When I hit Camp Takka, the only food that I'd had in the past week had been various nuts and berries

...Some of which may or may not have induced some kind of side effect, but enough of that

"Shize" Gensoku greeted the woman standing outside of the command tent. She seemed irritated at something but seemed to push it away when her partner showed up

"Gen" She gave a nod as we approached "Saito. Command wants to see you inside"

I nodded and went to head in before Gensoku stopped me "They'll be lenient today, but remember that they are still leaders of an unofficial sovereign Shinobi state" How he was sure I knew those words, I had no idea… "So, be somewhat respectful, yeah?"

"...Sure, yeah" Was all I said before moving into the tent. Gensoku was a weird guy. Sucks that I still didn't have some kind of 'Observe' skill to see what powers all of these people had. I'm 99% sure that skills were still locked behind some level wall

"Ah, good, you're here" The woman who had read the scroll a few hours prior greeted me as I entered. A few of the seats which had been filled before were now vacant, leaving only nine people out of the fifteen or so

"We'll keep this brief" The Kaguya man who had spoken up during our first meeting spoke again "We can either arrange a boat to carry you from here off towards the coast of the land of tea. You can go from there and we will not say a word"

"Or" He continued with a short pause "We can extend an offer to join our cause of freeing Kirigakure no Sato from the hands of the tyrant Yagura Karatachi. You will be granted training and support from our very own Rebel forces, as well as much more. Though, the obvious risks are there"

I blinked

"So, what will you choose, young man?"

'_Eh?'_

* * *

_**Woah - Your boy is back. Bet you didn't expect this, did you?**_

_**Sorry about the late update here. My creativity dropped significantly while I was writing the first half of this chapter and I utterly could not for the life of me figure out how to continue it from here**_

_**Also sorry about the short length. For the reason mentioned above and for the sake of setting a few things up, I left it to this length.**_

_**Can't guarantee a set date for the next chapter, but it will be coming! One of these days... Don't look at me like that**_

_**In any case, thank you for reading! Leave feedback, tell me how shit I am, etc. I'll see you all in the next one**_


End file.
